Prurient side projects

[FreakAnimalFinland]

It's not so often I happen to get some "new" Hospital productions tapes, but just got 3 of the Mitochondrial DNA tapes from 2012. It was Fernow + Conelly project.

I got 3 of the 5 releases this project did. Graphic design is pretty horrid, but sound I like. You can still get some of these for pretty cheap prices from discogs. Not sure if label still has them.

Tapes appear like they could be studio-live, but at the same time part of the sounds seems like slowed down or at least pitched down and they do have density of layering.

Fernow mentioned to me last time we meet that he isn't particularly happy with a lot of releases on Hospital Productions as it wasn't really label in traditional sense, but documenting a lot of things what was just happening. People that was hanging around, people he meet and co-operate with. Lots of small scale releases which barely needed to be firm cornerstones of label, but just things happening in process.

At the same time, I have dislike and admiration for such approach. In one hand, when it's curated, yet relatively free form of flowing energy, interesting things may emerge. And at the same time, putting out small insignificant releases to be forgotten doesn't seem like good idea for label, hah... And yet another collaboration.. is it necessary? Perhaps not, but is it obsolete? I guess not.

Each tape is short, c. 10 minutes session and perhaps one could have compiled all the 4 Hospital productions tapes into one tape. I can see that one reason why they aren't, is that each tape is different.

"Powercrash" leans towards raw and brutal noise with some pitched undertones. "Strawberry Sugar Zeros" has one side noisier, perhaps guitar created sounds while other side is far more experimental. "World Largest Ink Collection" appears like guitar drone being evoked below mass of multieffect noise. It feels like best material of each tape is on a-side, and b either just follows more the same, or is something little less interesting. Each tape does have odd charm in them. Visually so lame and format wise far from ideal, but I still like them.

It makes me wonder how much people have followed Fernows side projects? I hardly ever hear anyone talk about them and seems like audience is elsewhere.

Christian Cosmos, Christmas Trees, D Magdalene, December Magic, Exploring Jezebel, Machinegun Warfare, Noose Ensures Survival Wants And Needs, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement, River Magic, Tortured, Window Cleaning By Ian, Winter Soldier... those are probably just handful, and I must say that I can't really remember how Exploring Jezebel really sounded like, but it's probably only one of mentioned I even have in my tape shelves...

[SiClark]

I must admit the covers of the Mitochondrial DNA put me off buying them as they look so horrible. I might try them out though, they are selling for cheap.

I really like Exploring Jezebel. The 8xtape box is pretty intense release and very good. The recent LP from this project on Blackest Ever Black might not be everyone's cup of tea as it's a little different to previous releases but I absolutely love it, almost a narrative journey of a businessman's trip through the darker side of London, more short techno loops than noise.

Bits of Vatican Shadow, Christian Cosmos and Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement I like but haven't kept up with all of the projects as like you said, many are incredibly small editions, some of which sell for crazy prices.

[THE RITA HN]

Yes, the Exploring Jezebel releases I managed to get I really enjoy.

[ConcreteMascara]

I have to laugh because Exploring Jezebel was one side-project I could not get into, at least when the first few tapes came out. Eventually wound up selling them. Maybe I'd like the techno-oriented direction of it more?

Personally, I really enjoy the first few years of Vatican Shadow with it's rough ethnic techno vibe reminding me of Future Sounds of London and Regis mashed up. I know some people think of it as a knock-off Muslimgauze but I find Muslimgauze to be way too inconsistent for my liking. It's certainly one of the most techno oriented side-projects, if not the most but tapes like Ghosts of Chechnya, Jordanian Descent and the Washington Buries... tapes are all great to my ears. I hear a lot of older WARP RECORDS in them.

the gritty industrial of Geography of Hell was all aces, too bad that most/all of the tapes are very rare and pricey.

also I wasn't a huge fan of Tortured Hooker, but then I don't care for most noisecore....

[SiClark]

the gritty industrial of Geography of Hell was all aces, too bad that most/all of the tapes are very rare and pricey.

Is 'Geography of Hell' Prurient? If so this project is really great.

[yosef666]

Mitochondrial DNA is great stuff. My personal favorites of Dom's solo side projects would be Tortured Hooker, December Magic and River Magic. And as far as groups go, some of his black metal work is excellent, especially Ash Pool.

[Duncan]

Fernow mentioned to me last time we meet that he isn't particularly happy with a lot of releases on Hospital Productions as it wasn't really label in traditional sense, but documenting a lot of things what was just happening. People that was hanging around, people he meet and co-operate with. Lots of small scale releases which barely needed to be firm cornerstones of label, but just things happening in process.

This is the trouble with everything the man touches and for all the fair arguments to be made in favour of this approach, all you are really left with is a handful of good material amidst a sea of drudge.  Absolutely counts for Prurient too.  Whether it's a 5 minute tape of any old feedback and hum or some kind of euro synth inspired work out, it's always hilarious to see it get analysed for conceptual possibilities when it's a Fernow based release despite the likely reality that what one is really listening to is just shat out and poorly executed. There isn't actually anything wrong with doing this and as I say, you can argue fairly for people doing this kinda thing, but when so much other noise work gets criticized for precisely this kind of thing (very often by Dom himself in a lot of his interviews!) all the claims to a higher artistic purpose behind the things Hospital/Fernow come up with, not to mention the cultish following, hold very little water in my eyes.

[Bloated Slutbag]

hold very little water in my eyes.

Interesting choice of words.

[collapsedhole]

love tortured hooker, lowest of the low noisecore shitcore garbage. so bad. which is why so good.

coming from an oldschool electro background (90s metropolis records, etc.) i absolutely hate vatican shadow... sounds exactly like my first techno-industrial adventures in early highschool while figuring out how to use synths. bad in the embarrassing way. feel the same about christian cosomos or any other minimal techno using preset sounds, regardless of who is behind the project. cant understand the current fixation - learn how to use your fucking gear - make your own patches and stay away from the arpeggiator!

it was my understanding that geography of hell had a rotating cast of characters, all involved fernow though. favorite of that work would be the tape on lust vessel. great tense industrial sound.

exploring jezebel i enjoy quite a bit. easy to loose sense of time in the repetitive long tracks. succeeds in feeling like those times where you are in a marathon sex session and don't know why you still continue. that business trip to london i don't like, but can appreciate it as being just extremely bizarre record...

i usually enjoy the metal he's involved with - the taylor bow 7", ash pool

always wanted more material from PARROT - jeff plummer and dom - miserable depressive synth noise wall from i:g and relentless vocal assault period fernow, great!

i remember a quote from phil blankenship on the topic of putting out a ton of limited tapes saying that the process is sometimes more important then the result - i feel a lot of hospital titles in recent years would fit that mode of operation. not necessarily a bad thing. to me the label was much more consistant earlier on... kinda feel apart around 2010 except a few excellent mainstays - like lussuria or alberich or ffh... but once he started assigning cat #'s to mp3 only releases it was clear things are just not the same anymore. give me feedback and a stack of amps over artfag techno flac files anyday.

[Pax Chetyorka]

coming from an oldschool electro background (90s metropolis records, etc.) i absolutely hate vatican shadow... sounds exactly like my first techno-industrial adventures in early highschool while figuring out how to use synths. bad in the embarrassing way. feel the same about christian cosomos or any other minimal techno using preset sounds, regardless of who is behind the project. cant understand the current fixation - learn how to use your fucking gear - make your own patches and stay away from the arpeggiator!

"Bleh, presets" was the reaction I had to Mauthausen Orchestra's Digression, hah. Which Vatican Shadow records did you listen to? I like Kneel Before Religious Icons.
What bothers me is that a lot of his small releases go lukewarm quickly. I trust Jeff Witscher's labels and Monorail Trespassing way more on that type of thing, honestly.

[Andrew McIntosh]

all the claims to a higher artistic purpose behind the things Hospital/Fernow come up with, not to mention the cultish following, hold very little water in my eyes.

Agree completely, but would add that it's not just Fernow and followers guilty of such things.

The "cultish following" is pretty much of his and any other artist's control, although it could hardly be unwelcome. But the "claims to a higher artistic purpose behind the things" is something that is all too often indulged in. Probably because it's often expected, at least in some circles. To say "I just farted this out, it's okay" about something on offer to the public for a price is, of course, a put off for a lot of people normally prepared to part with their hard earned for a tape or something. Others may be alright with it. But to say something along the lines of "carefully crafted over a period of two years with an obsessive interest in the obscure themes involved" will be a lot more appealing.

What I'm stating is - it's all in the advertising.

[collapsedhole]

Which Vatican Shadow records did you listen to?

i followed the project from its beginning to about 2013, never saw the improvement i needed to continue. i see there is much more now.. maybe i'll give some a shot... YELWORC "brainstorming" is type of electro i like...celtic circle...etc..... though so unless it measures up to that.....

[FreakAnimalFinland]

"I just farted this out, it's okay"

I would have assumption that it's not only about advertising, but perception.

Lets say Incapacitants releases CD with studio live noise assault with another track being live recording. Did they "fart out" it, because they didn't spend 2 years of editing and re-cutting the piece?

We can also see that all the years one spent on learning certain methods, processes and equipment, recording methods and such makes it possible to simply create. No matter if it's done real time, with barely longer session than finished release is.

Of course, one may conclude that we aren't talking about Incapacitants here. I don't think Fernow "farts out" the material as much as it is treated as cumulating bigger body of work. Which indeed is more "artsy" or conceptual approach than just doing good noise. However, he has managed to do a lot of latter one too. There is also  difference in what is treated as album, and what works are perhaps more of audio diary of things happening.

[Dirtbag]

Ash Pool is pretty cool, if you like lo-fi black metal. Not saying it's the end all be all, just pretty cool.

[ProgeriaYouth]

This subject of "farted out" as opposed to something carefully crafted is part of a much larger conversation that has been going on in noise circles for the whole 11+ years I have been involved. Seems the answer is and only ever can be "in the eye of the beholder".

As for Prurient side projects, this thread inspired me to look through my dwindling collection (a lot of which I have been selling or trying to sell on discogs lately to regain some living space) for Fernow side projects and I found a tape on the Hanson label by 'Machinegun Warfare' which, as I recall, I had never listened to; possibly due to me not realising who was behind the project and subsequently filing it away in an old "to listen to" pile... This S/T C-30 appears to be the only tape from this project, apart from compilation appearance also on Hanson*, according to Discogs and I would have to say that is a shame. The tape has a very appealing sound to my ears; bass heavy, crunchy mids, quite blown out in parts, pedal+synth abuse with occasional shouted (albeit buried) vocals, no samples or gimmicks, side long tracks with plenty of dynamics while maintaining a certain density etc... a style of noise/PE that isn't heard very much any more unfortunately. Would appeal to fans of some Filth & Violence releases for example... good stuff!

Ash Pool never did anything for me aside from the odd track here and there but that's the case for most Black Metal from USA for me. Can't really comment on the techno works as I don't know what is "good" or "bad" within this particular genre, only what is not interesting to me... which is most of it... However, a friend of mine saw him play in Shipley and said it was worth it alone for the 2+ hours of intense dancing he did all the way through his Vatican Shadow set. I'm certainly no dancer, but I assume this at least shows some kind of dedication to what he is doing even if it does turn out that he is effectively just pressing drum presets etc... The whole minimal techno scene which seems to be very much in vogue here in the UK at the moment could be seen, also, as a great use of marketing; especially for music that is mainly made on computers by producers who use the same "scene friendly" set of programs and tools - or so I hear. For example, a few years ago something which may have sounded the same but described as 'minimal drone using loops' could have slipped under the radar very easily where as the same tape today (with free download code of course!), if advertised as 'minimal dance music anthems', could easily shift a couple of hundred units.

All in all, having met him once or twice, I find Dominick and most of his work interesting, sincere and even, on occasion, challenging to listen to. Good or bad, you can't really ask for more than that from any given artist or musician.

* An off-ish topic side note: This reminds me of certain projects that were created solely for the purpose of appearance on a certain label. I wonder if that is the case with this one? Other example would be the project Richard Ramirez did for my label; Private Mouthpiece. Any other examples out of curiosity?